Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!ncrlnk!ncr-sd!hp-sdd!hplabs!hpfcdc!hpldola!hp-lsd!oldcolo!dave
From: dave@oldcolo.UUCP (Dave Hughes)
Newsgroups: comp.graphics
Subject: Re: Some Basic Naplps Facts
Summary: naplps drawing dynamic
Message-ID: <138@oldcolo.UUCP>
Date: 19 Mar 89 18:58:40 GMT
References: <137@oldcolo.UUCP> <15833@cup.portal.com>
Organization: Old Colorado City Communications, Colorado Springs, CO
Lines: 40


In the previsou LadyHawk made some interesting observations
about Naplps as it was in 1985. Quite valid.
1. That the tools to draw it with were crude. That has been
changed a lot. PLP DRAW by Voila in Canada is a VGA drawing
tool, which can be done with a mouse very rapidly, with  lots
of easy click-on choices, and, more importantly, editing
commands. I watched two young boys pick up the mouse and
imnmediately start drawing and editing by just following the
screen commands, windows, menus.
2. But it is also true that converting from another format
with a good drawing interface could make life easy. There
have been produced by several Canadian firms translation
programs - one of which can take a Targa board image, and
resolve it into a naplps frame at 1/30th the filesize of
the original.
3. I find that the characteristic of dynamic 'drawing' of the
frame as it displays is part of the charm of Naplps. So
much so I use it to create my 'Word Dance' visual speech
literary works - in which ascii characters presented anywhere
on the screen, in whatever size, color, and duration - 
presents the pieces as if they are being spoken, as in
a play. No more of this dull Gutenburg 'Upper-left-to-lower
Right' static screens for me.
4. As a result of the above it is possible to create 
dynamic texts, in which the page is framed, or a drawing
displays on part of the screen, while the words display,
wait, scroll, or disappear to be replaced by another
phrase until the piece is done. And the text can have been
prepared in advance, in ascii, by a word processor, to be
'inloaded' to the naplps frame-file, after the characteristics
have been set.
5. Errors can and are deleted from the buffer in any drawing
programs I have seen.

-- 
Dave Hughes          Old Colorado City Communications
hplabs!hp-lsd!oldcolo!dave
"It is better to light one screen than cursor the darkness"
                                            Bill Robinson